Threat Written On Bathroom Wall Creates Panic, Closes Auburn’s Campus

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Threats toward universities have become all too common. Within the last month, bomb threats have been reported at George Mason University and at Louisiana State University. Both were eventually deemed harmless, but authorities still had to take the proper precautions to protect students and faculty.

Yesterday, a threat written on a bathroom wall in a building on Auburn’s campus began circulating on social media. There were rumors of a sketchy individual wearing a black trench coat, carrying no school supplies, who spent the past day hanging around the building where the graffiti was found. Understandably, this created panic across the campus.

Apparently discovered three weeks ago by a pre-med senior, the threat written on the bathroom wall reads, “Whom it may concern, April 16th, 2014, I will unleash a rampage of biblical proportion across this tiny campus… You have been warned.”

The senior who discovered the graffiti first contacted the Auburn Police Department when he discovered the threat three weeks ago, but he claims no one followed up on the report until last night, when someone from the department finally contacted him.

At first, the university’s administration chose to keep the university open and to conduct business as usual. This was met with varying reactions from professors.

After debating overnight, the university’s administration decided that due to the high level of anxiety the threat has caused for students and their parents, it would close campus and cancel all activities on Wednesday.

They sent the following message to students through the AU Alert system:

The administration released the following statement regarding the incident.

The Auburn University Department of Public Safety & Security and the Auburn Police learned of a threatening message posted in a campus restroom. While we have substantiated no immediate threat, we have canceled classes and suspended normal university operations today because the safety of our students, faculty and employees is our primary concern. Law enforcement officials are actively investigating and increasing security in and around campus. As more information becomes available, we will keep the Auburn family and community informed.

Police continue to claim the threat has not been substantiated and they do not believe it is credible.